


Not About Angels

by RosesForNicole



Series: Not About Angels [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stranger Things, Multi, Stranger Things 1, Stranger Things 2, Stranger Things 3, Stranger Things Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-17 18:03:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20625260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosesForNicole/pseuds/RosesForNicole
Summary: Jonathan Byers thinks nothing of it when Eleven confesses to having nightmares about the same girl he has been dreaming about since they left Hawkins. Not until his little brother, Will, begins drawing the girl in perfect detail. With signs of mounting danger, Jonathan has no choice but to return to Hawkins to find out more about the mysterious girl.Back in Hawkins, Jim Hopper survived the laser blast at Starcourt Mall by the skin of his teeth; however, he can't remember anything from the last year. Dr. Owens works with Hopper's memory to recover it while simultaneously giving Hop a job securing the vault doors beneath the old Hawkins Lab. The doors are labeled 001-012, and doors numbered 003, 006, 008, 009, and 011 are left open while the rest are sealed tight.What is so important behind the doors? Will it save Hawkins again or will it being more destruction? Can Jonathan help save his family again?





	1. Jonathan Byers: To Build a Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonathan Byers thinks nothing of it when Eleven confesses to having nightmares about the same girl he has been dreaming about since they left Hawkins. Not until his little brother, Will, begins drawing the girl in perfect detail. With signs of mounting danger, Jonathan has no choice but to return to Hawkins to find out more about the mysterious girl. 
> 
> Back in Hawkins, Jim Hopper survived the laser blast at Starcourt Mall by the skin of his teeth; however, he can't remember anything from the last year. Dr. Owens works with Hopper's memory to recover it while simultaneously giving Hop a job securing the vault doors beneath the old Hawkins Lab. The doors are labeled 001-012, and doors numbered 003, 006, 008, 009, and 011 are left open while the rest are sealed tight. 
> 
> What is so important behind the doors? Will it save Hawkins again or will it being more destruction? Can Jonathan help save his family again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for checking out my fanfic. I hope you enjoy it.  
Title based on song - https://youtu.be/oUFJJNQGwhk

Chapter One: Jonathan Byers – To Build a Home

Jonathan startled, shoving his pillow off his bed. Sweat dripped off his hair, dampening his forehead. He reached for the lamp on his nightstand, knocking it over at first. As he righted the lamp, it blinked several times. Most people thought brownout, but Jonathan knew the truth. Jane was having a nightmare too. 

He flicked the lamp on as he sat on the edge of his bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stood. Jonathan’s room was bare; white walls, blue lace curtains—his mom picked them—nothing stood out except his stereo. He touched his camera gingerly as he passed it on a shelf by his door. He kept the camera there, because it was the last thing he grabbed before he left for the day. 

The lights flickered again as he opened his door. Jonathan heard soft snores from the room next to his—his mother’s room. Down the hall there were two doors across from one another. Jonathan put his ear to the door on the left, heard soft breathing, and then grabbed the knob on the door to the right. 

Jane thrashed in her bed. Kicking and clawing at the blankets. Grunting. Blood trickled down from her right nostril, smearing across her face. “NO!” The lights blinked rapidly. Buzzing as the lights grew more intense.

“El,” Jonathan said. His mom warned not to wake her when she was having these dreams, but he hated to see her in so much pain. “Eleven!”

She gasped but didn’t open her eyes. 

“Jane,” Jonathan crept toward her bed. 

Her eyes shot open, a sneer on her face. She ran her thumb over her right wrist, feeling the black ink on her arm. “011”. The reason why she was called Eleven. 

“You had one too, huh?” Jonathan asked. He sat on the edge of her bed. “It’s okay. It wasn’t real.” 

“It felt real,” Jane said. “I saw Hopper.”

“Me too,” Jonathan said. 

A tear slipped down Jane’s cheek. “I miss him.”

“I miss all of them. Hopper, Nancy, Steve, Lucas, Dustin, Max, even Mike.” 

Jane flinched. She hadn’t spoken to Mike Wheeler since they left Hawkins. Jonathan offered to put the phone in her room so she could have some privacy. He found the walkie in her room three days after the move. The black brick that took way too many batteries, identical to the one his brother carried like a child’s blanket. Neither of them had gotten contact from “the party”. It wasn’t either of their faults, but Jane didn’t take it quite as well as Will. 

“What were you dreaming about? Besides Hopper?”

Jane paused. She looked at the floor before she met his eyes. Jonathan hated when she looked in his eyes. It was as if she could see something he’d tried to burry. The fear and sadness. Even the anger. No one else noticed it, but it felt like she saw it every time.

“There was bright light everywhere. Machine parts flew through the air. Hop was falling backwards, his arms flapping.” She hugged her knees to her chest. “Then a girl came to see him. She stood over him in a too clean room.”

“Was the girl you?”

Jane shook her head.

“No, she was older. Like you.” Jane’s eyes moved over Jonathan’s face. “Seventeen maybe eighteen. She didn’t say anything, but she touched his face. Hopper was asleep and he didn’t wake up when she touched him.”

Her dream sounded eerily familiar. A girl with coppery red hair and dark green, almost brown, eyes stood over Jim Hopper. She put a hair back into place as she moved her plump lips, as if chanting to herself. Her eyes were bright with hope, the stand out feature on her otherwise pale face. A number stamped on her right arm, just above the wrist reminded him of Jane. Of when they called her Eleven. Except this girl was number twelve.

“Is she familiar to you?” Jonathan asked.

Jane shook her head. “No, but I recognized this…” She held up her arm, indicating the number tattoo. 

Jonathan didn’t say anything for a moment. Maybe she was a girl that they had both seen in the last week. They all saw too many people every day to notice. It was just a coincidence. Jonathan’s family was safe now that they’d moved away from Hawkins Laboratory. 

“It was just a bad dream,” Jonathan said. He patted the blanket beside him. 

Jane stretched her legs out and scooted closer to him. She hugged his waist as if he’d been her big brother her entire life.

Jonathan smiled and hugged her to his chest. “It’s the Byers family against the world, El. And you’re one of us now.”

Joyce banged on the door. With hands on her hips, she scrunched her face into angry mom mode. It was 8:15am and none of her children were awake yet. 

“Jonathan,” she said. “Why isn’t anyone up yet?”

Joyce scoffed and moved down the hall. She hadn’t allowed herself to dream of normalcy for her family, but since the move her kids were doing okay. Much better than they were doing in Hawkins. 

Will didn’t draw dark shadowy things anymore. He didn’t complain about headaches or the hair rising on his neck. Will was gaining weight and playing outside by himself again. Joyce couldn’t be happier for him. 

Jonathan took on the role of caregiver for the kids. He watched them more closely than Joyce, and he always seemed to be there for both Jane and Will. Joyce was so proud of the man he was becoming, but she hated that he’d had his heart broken. Nancy Wheeler was Jonathan’s first crush. When they started dating Jonathan’s happiness was contagious. However, now that they’d broken up, it was hard to see Jonathan go from home, to school, to work, and back to home. She wished he’d do more.

“Eleven!” Joyce didn’t think she’d ever get used to calling her Jane. Will refused to acknowledge she had a real name, and Jonathan wouldn’t call her anything else. Joyce had a hard time looking at El. Each time, she saw a bit of Hopper in the girl’s expression. Eleven wasn’t Hopper’s biological daughter, but she took his mannerisms. She smiled the same slow, wide grin when she was happy. The cheeky sarcasm came more easily to El than anyone else. Joyce wished she had given into her feeling for Hopper before the accident. 

“Will! It’s time to get up. Come on, Lazy Bones.”

Joyce stared into Jane’s open bedroom door. The one thing she loved most about Jonathan was his heart. The way he curled up with Jane was so brotherly and protective that she almost cried. Joyce had found Jonathan and Will like this once or twice in Will’s bed after will returned from the Upside Down. 

“Jonathan, Eleven; come on. Time to get up. You’re going to be late,” Joyce said.

Jonathan groaned, stretching his legs until he rolled off Eleven’s bed. He jumped to his feet. “I’m okay!”  
Eleven rubbed her eyes and sat up. Joyce noticed Eleven’s body movements going back into their robotic routine. She prayed Hopper’s daughter wasn’t taking a set back from the real world. They’d go for a girls day this weekend. Maybe new clothes would help loosen Eleven up again. 

“Thanks Mom,” Jonathan said as he kissed her cheek. He went to the kitchen. His college classes didn’t start for two hours, and he’d taken to helping Joyce make breakfast for the kids in the mornings.

Joyce opened Will’s door. He was looking at himself in his dresser mirror. The new jacket and burgundy button-down shirt looked great on him now that he’d gained a little weight and his complexion wasn’t so pale. “Are you ready for school?” Joyce smiled at the thought of her son trying to impress a crush. He hadn’t found a girl he liked in Hawkins or maybe he was a late bloomer. Joyce knew he’d find someone good for him soon. She even thought maybe Will was confused about girls because he liked someone else in Hawkins. Mike. She never liked the way he depended on Mike. 

“Mom, can I have a friend over after school today?” Will asked.

“Of course, you can! What’s this friend’s name?”

“Matthew Jones. He helped me last week, and we’ve been hanging out at school.”

“I’d love to meet him.”

“Mom!”

“Joyce didn’t care that her son whined at him. She had him at home. His hugs, his silly rituals, and his whine were all appreciated. 

“Make sure your bother knows. He’s picking you up from school today, Okay?” Joyce more warned than asked.

“Okay.”

“Hey, Will,” Joyce said as she stopped him from running out of his bedroom. “How is El doing at school?”

“She’s quiet. Not a lot of people go near her.” Will shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, but she did make one new friend. I saw them talking at recess.”

Joyce let out a sigh of relief. Yes, they were going to be okay here. This was finally going to be home. The Byers family had definitely made it home.


	2. Will Byers: I'm Still Standing

Will Byers had been the first victim to become a host of the Mind Flayer. Each time the hideous shadow monster came back, he could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise as if lightning was about to strike. The hair on his neck hadn’t risen since the Byers family moved from Hawkins. Not since the battle of the Starcourt Mall. He tried to pretend that he wasn’t afraid the creature would come back again, and each day that passed made it a little easier for him to believe.

“Are you sure, Honey?” Will’s mom asked. Her voice was always patient yet protective. She had a hard time letting him out of her sight since he was taken into the Upside Down. She never gave up on him, even when the police found his body and declared him dead.

“Mom,” Will said as his mother fixed the collar of his shirt. “I’m positive. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to keep driving me. Right, Jonathan? El?”

Jonathan smiled over his eggs. “Mom, it is embarrassing for a teenager when his mom walks him into the school every day.”

Jane didn’t answer. She stuffed her mouth with a toasted Eggo.

“Fine. Jonathan, can you take the kids?” Will’s mom asked. Disappointment seeped into her tone. “I have an early meeting anyway.”

Will had heard his mom talk about going to interviews. She wanted a desk job, especially after Hopper told her she would be a good detective. Desk jobs weren’t easy to find when you didn’t have experience. Will knew she waited tables at a diner, so her meeting must’ve been another interview.

“Sure, no problem. I need to be on campus early today. They’re going to review my photos to see if I’m a good fit for the school paper.” Jonathan said. His toast crumbled on his shirt.

“Okay,” Will’s mom said. “Can you pick them up today too? I don’t want them taking their bikes. It’s still an unfamiliar place, and I don’t know everyone.” 

“Yes, Mom,” Jonathan said. He got up from the table and opened the door for his mother. “If you don’t leave now, you will be late.”

Will was the first one out of the car. Jonathan yelled have a good day as El slid out. She still hadn’t adjusted to their new school, but Will loved it. The AV club had newer radios to tinker with, and he was learning how to edit video film. Jonathan had taught him how to develop photos three years ago, so he was excited to move forward with film. 

Will dropped his bag at his locker and grabbed his advanced biology book. He was getting much more education in the city rather than what he got back in Hawkins. 

“Nerd alert,” a boy twice Will’s size yelled. He slammed his hand against Will’s book. Papers scattered.

“Hey!” Will said. He turned to scold the culprit, but stopped himself. The boy’s face was quickly becoming synonymous with the word “bully” in Will’s mind.

“What are you going to do, huh?” The boy shoved Will against a locker. 

This was a routine of sorts. Not the book necessarily, but this same kid always slammed Will into a locker and threaten to beat him. Will was sick of it. He used to be brave. He used to be Will the Wise.

“Go away,” Will whispered. He thought of Bob Newman’s advice about dream bullies. It hadn’t worked on the Mind Flayer, but this kid was nothing in comparison. Will’s dreams had been scarier than this kid, so the simple fix must be the best option.

“What’d you say?”

“I said go away!” Will’s voice was gaining momentum. His fingers curled into the life line on his palms. “Leave me alone.”

The bully started laughing. He turned to look over his shoulder. Will kicked out. Landing a shin blow. The bully howled. His grip tightened on Will’s shirt.

“Let me go,” Will said. His voice had grown quiet, too calm. 

The bully reared back. Will closed his eyes. Braced for impact. The sound of skin smacking against skin resounded within his soul, but he didn’t feel the pain. Will opened his eyes. The bully’s grip faltered. 

“Enough is enough, man,” a tall, thin boy said. His short hair was dark and combed in a way that was just so. Something about the way the boy held himself reminded Will of Steve Harrington. Not that this slender, dark haired teenager looked like King Steve. No, this boy walked with the same confidence. He wasn’t as muscular as the bully, but he was taller.

“This isn’t your business,” the bully said. 

“My friend, my business,” the boy said.

Will had been in town for two weeks. He’d never seen this boy. Not one word was shared between the two. Will didn’t understand why the boy was saying they were friends.

The bully let go of Will and stepped toward the boy. Before he could lash out, the boy’s long legs made their way in a precarious position for the bully. Will held his breath as the large bully landed face first on the floor. 

“You don’t scare me,” the boy said. “And I won’t let you scare him either.”

“He doesn’t,” Will said. His voice was weak.

“Good.” The boy slapped Will’s shoulder like Mike used to as if they’d done well. “Come on. I’ll walk you to class.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Matthew.”

“Why’d you help me?” Will asked.

Matthew smiled and shrugged. “You looked like you could use a break today.”

Will liked the way Matthew’s mouth crooked when he smiled. Matthew’s gray eyes seemed to sparkle. Will wanted to ask a thousand questions, but his tongue wouldn’t move. 

“Um… Thanks,” Will said. 

“No problem.” Matthew’s smile widened, showing off his strong jawline. 

Will wanted to touch his smooth skin, but stopped himself.

“I’ll meet you here after class. We don’t want them coming back around, right?” Matthew asked. “What’s your name?”

“Will. I’m Will Byers.”


End file.
